Bike dimensions

[fuzz]

I was just wondering, how do the dimensions of a bike affect its characteristics? I mean things like rake, trail, wheelbase etc. I understand that a longer wheelbase gives more stability but less cornering ability, but what else? What about suspension settings? How does compression, preload and rebound affect handling?

[MarJay]

https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=21874

This goes over the suspension part, as for rake, trail and wheelbase. How long have you got? Fork offset also makes a difference, as does the length of the swingarm in relation to the entire wheelbase.

Basically in the simplest possible terms, the steeper the forks are angled in relation to the floor, the faster the bike will turn but the more prone to tankslappers it will be. This is rake angle. Trail is the horizontal distance between the steering head and the wheel spindle afaik.

Basically if any of us knew all of the answers to your post we'd be working for Valentino!

I might have a stab at a more indepth post later, when I'm not at work,
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.